Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Cut by MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,704 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,517 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.4% of MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations: Azure revenue increased 43%, ahead of roughly 40% analyst expectations, and annual Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. The performance eased concerns that demand for AI infrastructure might be slowing. Microsoft tops quarterly cloud growth estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings beat: Microsoft reported $4.74 in adjusted EPS versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and $90.01 billion in revenue versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue rose 17.7% year over year, while profit increased about 31%. Microsoft fourth-quarter earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization is accelerating: Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, while management described the next growth phase as a “per seat plus consumption” model. Investors viewed Azure and Copilot adoption as evidence that AI investments are translating into commercial demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Spending concerns moderated: Microsoft held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady and said it expects continued cash generation in fiscal 2027. Management also said GPU spending could be adjusted if demand weakens, helping counter fears of unchecked AI-related cash burn. Microsoft keeps capex forecast unchanged
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and analyst support improved: Commercial remaining performance obligations reached a record $678 billion, up 84% year over year. RBC, Goldman Sachs, BMO, TD Cowen and DA Davidson were among firms maintaining positive ratings or raising targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox strategy: New gaming chief Asha Sharma aims to exceed peers’ margins by 2030 through Minecraft investment and partnerships, including in China. The plan could support longer-term profitability but remains execution-dependent. Microsoft Xbox margin plan
• Negative Sentiment: Risks remain: Wiz reported a cloud vulnerability that could have exposed Microsoft customers, while U.K. regulators are investigating Microsoft 365 subscription marketing. Several securities-fraud law firms also publicized shareholder lawsuits. These developments are potential overhangs, although they did not offset the earnings-driven optimism.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. CLSA reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.64.

Microsoft Stock Up 15.5%

Shares of MSFT opened at $451.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $397.07 and its 200 day moving average is $405.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.07% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).